Jacopo Pesaro being presented by Pope Alexander VI to Saint Peter

In 1502, Jacopo Pesaro, the Bishop of Paphos - present-day Cyprus - and commander of the papal
fleet, conquered the Island of Santa Maura on the Turks, a military triumph he subsequently had
immortalised in this painting. The composition was designed by
Giovanni Bellini, who was generally regarded as one of the most important artists
in Venice at the time.
Titian subsequently executed the painting. As a grandmaster of the Italian
Renaissance, he would greatly influence not only his contemporaries, but also painters of later
generations, including
Rubens and
van Dyck.
With a protective gesture, Pope Alexander VI commends the kneeling Jacopo Pesaro to St Peter,
who responds with a blessing. Lying at Peter’s feet are the keys to Heaven. The banner held by
Pesaro bears his coat of arms and that of the pope. Like the helmet in the foreground and the
galleys at sea, the banner is a reference to his recent conquest.

Love of God

In the relief on the plinth under Peter, we notice a Cupid. His arrow of divine love is aimed at
the woman to his right: Venus-Victrix, symbol of victory, peace and virtue. At the same time, he
turns away from the earthly and bodily love represented by the couple and the men with grapes to
the left. This allegorical scene demonstrates how Pesaro, through his love of God, achieved victory
on Santa Maura. As the saying goes, love conquers all.